The effect of two intermediate band energy levels in ZnTe solar cell

The intermediate band (IB) effects on the ZnTe(O) solar cells with oxygen defects have been widely investigated. A favorable influence on the conversion efficiency was predicted numerically, provided that oxygen doping concentrations are very high to allow a tunneling effect between IB energy levels for more light absorption. By incorporating more than one intermediate band energy level in a direct band gap materials such as ZnTe ma-terial, the effects of the intermediate bands are predicted by numerical simulation to be more pronounced on the performance of the solar cells, we realized a simulation study on an intermediate band solar cell (IBSC) based on ZnTe(O) with oxygen impurities. Indeed, oxygen incorporates multiple acceptor and donor mid-gap levels in ZnTe, we investigated in this study on the influence of two intermediate band (IB) energy levels: the first at 0.53 eV (acceptor energy level) below the conduction band edge and the second at 0.33 eV (donor energy level) above the maximum of the valence band.

Automated summary

The effects of intermediate bands on ZnTe(O) solar cells with oxygen defects were investigated. It was found that a higher concentration of oxygen doping can lead to a favorable influence on the conversion efficiency. By incorporating multiple intermediate band energy levels, the performance of the solar cells can be significantly improved.